Eternal and Universal
Are you as bored as I am with hearing “There is no such thing as absolute truth!”? So many philosophies have been built upon this eight-word contradiction, all the while ignoring the reality that any statement with the words “no such thing” in it is, by definition, an absolute. For that statement to be true, it would have to be. . . true. Which would make it a lie.
But why hurt your brain with such pointless, convoluted philosophy? Here at Truth Mission, we like to keep things as simple as possible.
So, let’s look at some observations concerning what truth is, and what truth is not. I will illustrate using a concept that anyone reading this can understand: 2+2=4.
TRUTH IS ETERNAL
Truth is that which has always existed and will always exist. It does not change, because it cannot change. What is true today was true yesterday. It will still be true tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, for all eternity. Times change, civilizations rise and fall, ideas go in and out of fashion, but truth remains.
Two plus two equals four. It equaled four from the beginning of time, it equals four today, and it will always equal four.
TRUTH IS UNIVERSAL
Truth applies to all people in all places the same way. Something that is true for a Christian in the United States is true for an atheist in France. That same truth also applies to the Bushmen of the Kalahari, the Aborigines in the Outback of Australia, the Waodani tribe in the jungles of Ecuador, the President in the White House, your aunt Ruth on the back porch, or a five-year-old kid in Iceland learning his addition for the first time.
Two plus two equals four, for all people everywhere.
TRUTH IS NOT A CULTURAL OR SOCIAL PHENOMENON
The world consists of a multitude of diverse cultures, customs, and social taboos (or the lack thereof). Even in a single place, over time, these cultures, customs, and taboos change. How many times have you heard someone older than you start a sentence with “When I was your age. . .,” indicating that something was different then than it is now? There will always be changing trends that influence what is considered socially acceptable or morally objectionable within a culture; however, because it is eternal and universal, the truth never changes.
Two plus two will never cease to equal four, no matter what else changes.
Perception
TRUTH IS NOT SUBJECT TO PERCEPTIONS OR OPINIONS
One of the most insidious falsehoods today is “What’s true for you is true for you, and what’s true for me is true for me.
The post-modern worldview professes that if there is no such thing as absolute truth, then there must also not be such things as good and evil, right and wrong, etc.
However, as we have already discussed, there is such a thing as absolute truth. It is eternal, and it is universal. It applies the same way to everyone, everywhere and in every age.
Every individual has his or her own perception or opinion of a given situation. Jack may say, “It is too hot in this room.” Meanwhile, Jill might say, “No, it’s freezing in here.” The thermostat reads a constant 68 degrees for both people in the room. However, each has his or her own perception and opinion about the temperature.
An argument begins. When the dust settles, however, the fact remains that it is still exactly 68 degrees in the room.
Now notice that I said “fact” and not “truth.” What’s the difference? In a word…
Context!
A fact is a single, tangible, observable nugget of information. While it may be true in and of itself, it can also be manipulated or placed into a context where it is not true.
Truth, however, is the principle behind the fact that is true regardless of the context.
In other words, it is 68 degrees now, but I can change that by setting the thermostat higher or lower. Or I can switch from Fahrenheit to Celsius. In that case, the temperature of the room stays constant, but it is no longer factual to say that it is 68 degrees.
So, if the facts of the constant temperature in the room can be manipulated, and the perceptions and opinions about the temperature can be as numerous as the number of people in the room, then what is the truth?
The truth is that heat exists.
It always has. It always will. Everyone everywhere must acknowledge this truth, regardless of perceptions and opinions about what feels hot or cold.
The key word in that last sentence was “feels.” Truth is not something that you feel, like an emotion, a perception, an opinion or even a belief. It is not even something you know, like a fact or an assumption.
Truth is what would be there whether you were there to perceive it or not.
Two plus two will not cease to equal four, regardless of how this makes you feel, or how many people think it ought to equal something other than four.
Beliefs
TRUTH IS INDISPUTABLE
We all spend our lives accumulating facts, having experiences, hearing other people’s opinions, analyzing our own perceptions, and we weave the sum of it into what we call “belief.” Our beliefs are what define us as human beings, and we cling to them for dear life.
But not everybody believes the same thing, obviously. Some would argue that because there are so many societal belief systems and individual belief patterns in the world, how could we possibly think that there is any such thing as absolute truth?
Well, simply put, belief is not truth.
Belief is individual; truth is universal. Belief dies with the person or culture that holds onto it; truth is eternal.
And here’s the biggie: belief causes arguments; truth ends them.
One problem with belief is that it is colored by our perception, the narrow tunnel through which we view the world. As such, it seems we are always ready to question others’ beliefs, but rarely do we question our own.
WHY do we believe what we believe? How many of us can truly answer that? How many of us have ever even thought about it?
If someone says or does something that is contrary to our beliefs, the adrenalin kicks in, and we are ready to go to the dirt for what we believe in.
But truth is another matter entirely. Because Truth is what’s left over at the end of the argument.
Take the two most disagreeable people on earth. Lock them in a room, give them a topic (and an occasional bathroom break), and they will argue for hours and hours. Each believes that he is right and the other is wrong. But given enough time, they will eventually run out of things to disagree about. Then they will hit upon the one thing that they must agree on, because they have no choice.
This is Truth. Indisputable Truth.
We know that we have transcended mere belief and found the truth when there is nothing left to argue about. Whatever started the argument, truth is what ends it.
Two plus two equals four, because it simply cannot equal anything else.
Offense
TRUTH IS NOT CONCERNED WITH WHOM IT OFFENDS
In today’s “woke” society, people are leery of saying what’s on their mind for fear of offending someone and getting “cancelled.”
But every now and then, people encounter the truth in some fashion that fundamentally alters their belief system. There is a part of them that feels compelled to share the truth they have found. After all, if truth is universal, then it would apply to all of one’s friends as well, right?
However, what we often do instead is to take the path of least resistance and keep the truth to ourselves. Why rock anybody’s world by challenging their belief patterns and thereby offending them?
But still, the truth remains. Because it is eternal, it will not change. Because it is universal, it will apply equally to anyone with whom you share it. And because it is indisputable, it could not offend anyone who receives it with an open mind and heart.
Ah, but there we have hit upon the problem, haven’t we? Receiving.
We would rather hear one hundred lies that back up what we have already chosen to believe than to receive a single word of truth that could permanently change our lives for the better.
What is it that blocks us from receiving the truth?
Pride.
Pride is the mother of offense. It makes us think we are better, smarter, more worthy than everyone else. Pride is what makes us not want to associate with people who don’t live up to our standards. Pride is what makes us not hear what we need to hear, because we have already made a judgment about the person bearing the message.
The most important thing that I can tell you about pride is this: you will NEVER find the truth until you lay your pride aside.
The minute you believe that you have a right to be offended by a person or situation, you have slammed the door in the face of truth, because you have lost sight of the reality that how you live and what you believe is just as offensive to someone else’s sensibilities.
So, it is not the truth itself that is offensive. Rather, the offense comes from our own pride preventing us from challenging our own beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes.
Again, the truth is what’s left at the end of the argument. It’s also what’s left when you get over yourself and begin receiving.
Two plus two equals four, and there’s nothing you can do about it, so you might as well accept it.
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